System and method for buy-side order matching

ABSTRACT

Techniques for buy-side order matching in the trading of financial instruments using a centralized matching engine having one or more storage devices including rules and order parameters for a plurality of buy-side parties. The centralized matching engine includes one or more transmitters and receivers communicatively coupled to a network and one or more processors operatively coupled to the one or more storage devices and the one or more transmitters and receivers. At least one message sent over the network by a plurality of buy-side parties and is received by the central matching engine to set the rules or order parameters. At least one order of at least two of the plurality of buy-side parties is matched based on the rules and the order parameters. A message is transmitted over the network to a sell-side party indicating that trade negotiation can commence.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/284,169 filed May 21, 2014 and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BUY-SIDE ORDER MATCHING,” which is related to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/825,754, filed May 21, 2013, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and from which priority is claimed.

BACKGROUND

The disclosed subject matter relates to techniques for the matching of orders in connection with the trading of financial instruments.

In the trading of financial instruments, including, e.g., equities, bonds, options, futures, derivatives, or the like, parties may desire to trade large blocks of an instrument. Conventional market structures can make it difficult for a buy-side party (e.g., an investment manager) to trade a relatively large block of an instrument without providing details, such as the available size or price of an instrument, to other firms. For example, if a buy-side party wishes to execute a trade of a relatively large block of an instrument, the buy-side party could communicate its trading intention, e.g., with an indication of interest (“IOI”) messaging system, to a sell-side party without a guarantee that a trade would actually be executed. This provision of details to other firms, e.g., sell-side parties, can lead to information leakage, which can have market impact that may have a detrimental effect on the trading price of the financial instrument.

Conventionally, a sell-side party acts as an intermediary between two potential buy-side counterparties and facilitates the determination of an appropriate size (i.e., the number of shares) and price of a trade between the counterparties. The sell-side party can receive IOI messages from potential buy-side parties, and can balance potential buy-side parties' trade interests. When two parties have trade interests that generally align (i.e., one party wishes to sell a financial instrument and another party wishes to buy that financial instrument), the sell-side party can facilitate the discovery of appropriate trade size and price. This conventional process, however, requires that buy-side parties disclose information about their trading intentions, demand, price limits, block size, and the like. This information can impact the market for a financial instrument. For example, a buy-side party's intention to buy a large block of a financial instrument may signal an increased demand for that instrument, which may increase the price at which others are willing to sell the financial instrument. Similarly, leakage of information about a seller's intent to sell a large block of a given instrument could decrease the price that others would be willing to pay, thereby driving down the price before the full block has traded.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system for matching orders with reduced opportunity for the dissemination of related to buy-side parties' trade intentions.

SUMMARY

The presently disclosed subject matter provides techniques for buy-side order matching, and more particularly to techniques for buy-side order matching without sell-side involvement in discovering a counterparty for an order.

In one aspect of the disclosed subject matter, a system for buy-side order matching in the trading of financial instruments using a centralized matching engine includes one or more storage devices having stored therein one or more rules and one or more order parameters for a plurality of buy-side parties, one or more transmitters and receivers communicatively coupled to a network, and one or more processors operatively coupled to the one or more storage devices and the one or more transmitters and receivers. The one or more processors are configured to receive at least one message sent over the network by a plurality of buy-side parties to set the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters. The one or more processors are configured to match at least one order of at least two of the plurality of buy-side parties based on the rules and the one or more order parameters. The one or more processors are configured to transmit a message over the network to a sell-side party indicating that trade negotiation can commence.

In certain embodiments, the order parameters can include one or more of an instrument symbol, an order size, and an order direction for each trade interest placed by the plurality of buy-side parties. The one or more rules can include, for the plurality of buy-side parties, an indication of which other buy-side parties, if any, to avoid matching with. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more rules can include, for the plurality of buy-side parties, an indication of sell-side parties that each buy-side party is willing to engage with for subsequent trade negotiation.

In certain embodiments, the one or more processors can be configured to match the orders of at least two of the plurality of buy-side parties when the order parameters for a first party and the order parameters for a second party include the same instrument symbol and the opposite order direction, when the one or more rules for the first party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the second party, when the one or more rules for the second party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the first party, and when the one or more rules for the first and second party include a mutual sell-side party. After the matching of orders from the at least two buy-side parties, the central matching engine can communicate via the network with each of the at least two buy-side parties to confirm interest. The message to the sell-side party can include instrument details and names of the at least two buy-side parties.

In another aspect of the disclosed subject matter, a method for buy-side order matching in the trading of financial instruments including using a centralized matching engine including one or more storage devices having stored therein one or more rules and one or more order parameters for a plurality of buy-side parties, one or more transmitters and receivers communicatively coupled to a network, and one or more processors operatively coupled to the one or more storage devices and the one or more transmitters and receivers. The method includes receiving at least one message sent over the network by a plurality of buy-side parties to set the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters. The method includes matching at least one order of at least two of the plurality of buy-side parties based on the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters. The method includes transmitting a message over the network to a sell-side party indicating that trade negotiation can commence.

In certain embodiments, the one or more order parameters can include one or more of an instrument symbol, an order size, and an order direction for each trade interest placed by the plurality of buy-side parties. The one or more rules can include, for the plurality of buy-side parties, an indication of which other buy-side parties, if any, to avoid matching with. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more rules can include, for the plurality of buy-side parties, an indication of sell-side parties that each buy-side party is willing to engage with for subsequent trade negotiation.

In certain embodiment, matching the orders of at least two of the plurality of buy-side parties can include identifying a match when the one or more order parameters for a first party and the one or more order parameters for a second party include the same instrument symbol and the opposite order direction, when the one or more rules for the first party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the second party, when the one or more rules for the second party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the first party, and when the one or more rules for the first and second party include a mutual sell-side party. The method can further include, after the matching of orders from the at least two buy-side parties, communicating via the network with each of the at least two buy-side parties to confirm interest. Transmitting the message to the sell-side party can include transmitting a message including instrument details and names of the at least two buy-side parties.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a workflow diagram in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 2 illustrates the discovery phase of buy-side order matching in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 3 illustrates the discovery phase of buy-side order matching where two buy-side parties have an aligned trade interest.

FIG. 4 illustrates the negotiation phase of the two buy-side parties of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5a is a screen shot of an exemplary user interface for a buy-side party to communicate with a central matching engine in accordance with the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 5b is a screen shot an exemplary user interface for confirmation by a buy-side party of a trade interest in accordance with the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 5c is another screen shot of the exemplary user interface of FIG. 5a illustrating confirmation by the user of one of the trade interests.

FIG. 5d is another screen shot of the exemplary user interface of FIG. 5a illustrating confirmation by both buy-side parties of one of the trade interests.

FIG. 5e is a screen shot of an exemplary user interface for a buy-side party after one of the trade interests has been submitted for negotiation.

Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals and characters, unless otherwise stated, are used to denote like features, elements, components or portions of the illustrated embodiments. Moreover, while the disclosed subject matter will now be described in detail with reference to the figures, it is done so in connection with the illustrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter are described below, with reference to the figures, for purposes of illustration, and not limitation.

The disclosed subject matter provides techniques for buy-side order matching without sell-side involvement in discovering a counterparty for an order. Generally, for purpose of illustration and as disclosed in more detail below, buy-side parties can indicate, to a centralized matching engine, intent in trading a financial instrument. The centralized matching engine can identify a match between two buy-side parties if certain criteria are met. If both counterparties approve the match, a sell-side party can be notified that a trade negotiation can commence, and is notified with the instrument detail and the names of the buy-side parties that have matched. In accordance with the disclosed subject matter, the sell-side party need not be involved in the process of discovering a counterparty for an order, thus reducing leakage of information regarding buy-side parties' trading intentions. That is, the buy-side parties' trading intentions are not disclosed to the sell-side party until a match has been found.

In one aspect of the disclosed subject matter, techniques for buy-side order matching include a centralized matching engine associated with one or more storage devices having stored therein a series of standard rules and order parameters. The centralized matching engine is configured to communicate with a plurality of buy-side parties to set the series of standard rules and order parameters. The centralized matching engine is further configured to match orders from at least two of the plurality of buy-side parties based on the series of standard rules and order parameters, and communicate with a sell-side party to notify the sell-side party that trade negotiation can commence. For purpose of clarity, and not limitation, exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods of this aspect of the disclosed subject matter will be described concurrently with reference to FIGS. 1-4.

In one exemplary and non-limiting embodiment, with reference to FIG. 1, techniques for buy-side order matching can include a centralized matching engine 100 associated with one or more storage devices (e.g., including databases 110 and 120) having stored therein information, including, for example, a series of standard rules and order parameters. The centralized matching engine 100 can include, for example, one or more servers connected to a network, such as the Internet or an intranet, and which can include one or more computer processors and memories. Alternatively, the centralized matching engine 100 can include a standalone computer, a server cluster, a distributed computing system, a cloud-based computing system, a mobile computing system, or the like. The memories associated with the centralized matching engine 100 can store executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, can implement the techniques disclosed herein. As embodied herein, the memories can include non-transitory computer readable storage media, including, without limitation, random access memory (RAM) such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) or static RAM (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), a CD-ROM, DVD, Magnetic disk, or the like, as local storage, networked storage, cloud-based storage, or otherwise configured storage. Moreover, as used herein, the term “memory” or “memories” can also include one or more databases.

The one or more storage devices associated with the centralized matching engine 100 can include, for example, one or more databases (e.g., databases 110 and 120). The database can be stored, for example, in the one or more memories of the centralized matching engine 100 or in one or more other computer readable media storage devices, such as magnetic or optical disks. In an exemplary embodiment, for purpose of illustration and not limitation, a database 110 can store a set of standard rules for the buy-side parties. For example, database 110 can store, for a buy-side party 101 a a list of blocked counterparties 111 a (i.e., a list of other buy-side parties with which buy-side party 101 a does not wish to trade with). Database 110 can also store, for buy-side party 101 a, a list of sell-side parties 112 a with which the buy-side party 101 a approves for negotiation of a matched order. The database 110 can likewise store a list of blocked counterparties 110 b and list of sell-side parties 112 b for buy-side party 101 b.

The databases can also store order parameters for the buy-side parties. For example, and not limitation, database 120 can store order parameters including information about buy-side party 101 a's declared trade interests 121 a as well as buy-side party 101 b's declared trade interests 121 b. Although FIG. 1 depicts database 110 and 120 as separate entities, it will be appreciated that the buy-side parties' rules and order parameters can be stored in a single database, multiple databases, federated databases, or other suitable arrangements.

The centralized matching engine 100 can be configured to communicate with a plurality of buy-side parties (e.g., 101 a and 101 b) to set the standard rules (e.g., 111 a, 112 a, 111 b, 112 b) and order parameters (e.g., 121 a, 121 b) stored in the one or more storage devices. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, the centralized matching engine 100 can further include one or more modems, routers, access points, switches, other wireless or wired network connections, or the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the centralized matching engine 100 can include a dedicated high speed connection, such as a T1 or T3 line, or some other type of fiber-optic connection, through a service provider. The centralized matching engine 100 can communicate with the plurality of buy-side parties in accordance with a known protocol, such as Financial Information eXchange (“FIX”), the ISO 15000 series of specifications, Swift, or any other suitable message format.

The series of order parameters (121 a, 121 b) can include, for example, a trade interest placed by one or more of the buy side parties. As used herein the term “trade interest” refers to an expression showing a condition, non-binding interest in buying or selling a financial instrument. For example, a first buy-side party 101 a (the “buying counterparty”) can communicate with the centralized matching engine 100 to select an instrument symbol corresponding to a financial instrument the buying counterparty wishes to buy. Alternatively, the buying counterparty 101 a can set instrument characteristics indicative of the financial instrument the buying counterparty wishes to buy. The buy-side counterparty 101 a can also set the size (e.g., number of shares) of the instrument desired and an indication that the direction of the trade is “buy.” At least a second buy-side party 101 b (the “selling counterparty”) can communicate with the centralized matching engine 100 to likewise select an instrument symbol, instrument characteristics, size, and direction of the trade the selling counterparty wishes to sell.

In an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment, with reference to FIG. 2, the central matching engine 100 can communicate with a plurality of buy-side parties (201 a, 201 b, 201 c, 201 d, 201 e, 201 f [collectively, 201]). Each buy-side party in communication with the central matching 100 engine can independently transmit messages to the central matching engine 100 indicating that party's trade interests. For example, employees of the buy side parties 201 may enter the details of one or more orders they wish to submit into an order management system. The order management system can be configured to generate messages including the details of the orders and route the messages to the central matching engine 100. Additionally and/or alternatively, the details of orders may be generated by computer software instead of entered by an employee. The transmitted order details can then be stored in the central matching engine 100 (e.g., in database 120).

As embodied herein, the buy-side parties 201 may each transmit a plurality of trade interests, and the central matching engine 100 can store a plurality of trade interests for each party. In certain embodiments, the buy-side parties 201 can communicate with the central matching engine 100 to requests, modify, or cancel pending trade interests. For example, the central matching engine 100 can be configured to query the one or more storage devices for stored order parameters for a particular buy-side party upon request. Similarly, the central matching engine 100 can be configured to remove or alter one or more order parameters for a buy-side party upon request. In an exemplary embodiment, communication between the buy-side parties 201 and central matching engine 100 for the purpose of requesting, modifying, or canceling pending trade interests can include the transmission of messages between the parties 201 and central matching engine 100 in accordance with the FIX protocol. One of skill in the art will appreciate, however, that messages can be transmitted in accordance with a variety of other suitable protocols.

The buy-side parties can likewise communicate with the central matching engine 101 to set the standard rules (e.g., 111 a, 112 a, 111 b, 112 b). The series of standard rules can include, for example, an indication for each buy-side party of which other buy-side parties, if any, each buy-side party does not want to be matched against for any trade interests. Additionally, the series of standard rules can include an indication of a list of sell-side parties that each buy-side party is willing to use for subsequent negotiation. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, for purpose of illustration, the available rules for each buy-side party can include.

The centralized matching engine 100 is configured to match orders from at least two of a plurality of buy-side parties based on the series of standard rules and order parameters stored in the database (e.g., database 110 and/or 120), and communicate with a sell-side party 130 to notify the sell-side party that trade negotiation can commence. For example, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the centralized matching engine 100 can be configured to match the buying counterparty with the selling counterparty if (1) one or more appropriate instruments can be traded, (2) the trade direction is opposite, (3) each counterparty has not indicated that they do not wish to trade with the other, (4) there is a mutual sell-side party shared by both counterparties that will take on the trade negotiation once the matching engine has found a match. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the matching process can be performed by the central matching engine 100 in real-time, continuously, throughout the trading day. In this embodiment, matches can be identified on a time-priority basis, such that the highest priority match will be processed at any point in time.

The process of entry of order parameters and standard rules and the identification of matching orders, as described herein, can be referred to as the “discovery phase.” FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the central matching engine 100 during the discovery phase, and in particular FIG. 2 illustrates the entry of order parameters from buy-side parties 201. FIG. 3 depicts the operation of the central matching engine 100 discovery phase after a match has been found between buy-side party 301 a and buy-side party 301 b. When the central matching engine 100 identifies a match (i.e., when the central matching engine 100 determines that two buy-side parties trade interests are aligned based on the matching rules described herein), the central matching engine 100 can check its storage devices (e.g., database 110 and/or 120) for a list of the preferred brokers corresponding to each party to choose an appropriate broker for negotiation. For example, with reference to FIG. 3, buy-side party 301 a has submitted a set of rules including negotiating sell-side list 312 a that indicates a preference for negotiation with Broker A, Broker B (313) and Broker C, respectively. Buy-side party 301 b has submitted a set of rules including negotiating sell-side list 312 b indicating a preference for negotiating with Broker B (313), Broker D, and Broker F, respectively. The central matching engine 100 can select a sell-side party for negotiation between buy-side party 301 a and 301 b by identifying a sell-side party common to both lists (e.g., Broker B, 313). Additionally, in certain embodiments, if the buy-side parties' sell-side lists include multiple common sell-side parties, the central matching engine 100 can choose a sell-side party based on the parties' preferences. Additionally and/or alternatively, in certain embodiments, the central matching engine 100 can communicate with each buy-side party to determine the parties respective sell-side preferences. For example, the central matching engine 100 can transmit a list of mutual sell-side parties to each buy-side counterparty, and each buy-side counterparty can rank the mutual sell-side parties based on preference, for example using a user interface such as that illustrated in FIG. 5 b.

After a match has been found and an appropriate sell-side party has been identified, the centralized matching engine 100 can communicate with each counterparty (101 a, 101 b) to confirm each parties' interest. For example, with reference to FIG. 1 and without limitation, the centralized matching engine 100 can send a message to a buying counterparty 101 a with an indication that a match has been found. In certain embodiments, this message can include details about the match including the identity of the matched counterparty, the instrument symbol and/or characteristics, and the like. One of skill in the art will appreciate, however, that the information provided to the buy-side parties after a match has been found need not include such information. For example, it may be desirable to prevent the sending of this information to buy-side counterparties to further reduce information leakage. The buying counterparty 101 a can confirm its trade interest by responding to the centralized matching engine 100 with an acknowledgement message.

The selling counterparty 101 b can likewise confirm its trade interest by responding with an acknowledgment message. FIG. 3 likewise depicts an example of a confirmation process. That is, after the matching engine 100 has identified a match (i.e., that buy-side parties 301 a and 301 b's trade interests are aligned) and identified an appropriate sell-side party (e.g., Broker B 313), each buy-side party 301 a and 301 b can confirm their trade interest. For example, buy-side party 301 a can send a confirmation message 322 a to the central matching engine 100 that its trade interest is current. Likewise, buy-side party 301 b can send a confirmation message 322 b to the central matching engine 100 that its trade interest is still current. It will be appreciated that, in some instances, a buy-side party's trade interest may no longer be current. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the central matching engine 100 can await confirmation that a matched trade interest is still current from both buy-side parties to a match before divulging any details about the buy-side parties to their respective counterparties. In this manner, leakage of information about the buy-side parties' positions can be reduced.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed subject matter, if a buy-side party's trade interest is no longer current, the buy-side party can provide the central-matching engine 100 with a reason for withdrawal of a trade interest. For example, a buy-side party may indicate that they have already executed the trade interest, that they are no longer interest, or provide another reason for withdrawal using an exemplary user interface such as that depicted in FIG. 5b . The user can click the “Withdraw” button 557, which can transmit a message to the central matching engine 100 indicating that the trade interest in not confirmed and provide a reason for withdrawal.

If both buy-side parties confirm their trade interest, a message can be sent to a mutual sell-side party to notify the sell-side party that a trade negotiation can commence. For example, and with reference to FIG. 1, a message can be sent to a mutual sell-side party 130 (i.e., a sell-side party that appears in both buy-side parties' sell-side party lists 112 a, 112 b). The mutual sell-side party 130 can be selected in accordance with the series of rules stored in database 110 corresponding to each counterparty as described herein. The message to the sell-side party 130 can further include the instrument detail, and the names of the buy-side parties that have been matched.

FIG. 4 illustrates the negotiation phase, in accordance with an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment, for matched trade interests of buy-side party 301 a and buy-side party 301 b as depicted in FIG. 3. In this example, Broker B 313 has been identified as an appropriate sell-side party, buy-side party 301 a has confirmed its trade interest via message 322 a, and buy-side party 301 b has confirmed its trade interest via message 322 b. Upon receipt of both confirmation messages 322 a and 322 b, the central matching engine 100 can notify Broker B 313 of the match and provide Broker B 313 with instrument detail and the names of the buy-side parties 301 a and 301 b. For example, central matching engine 100 can transmit a message 433 to Broker B 313 indicating the negotiation process can commence. Broker B 313 can act as an intermediary, and can start negotiation 435 a with buy-side party 301 a and can start negotiation 435 b with buy-side party 301 b. The techniques disclosed herein can thus allow buy-side firms to find a counterparty for a trade with another buy-side firm without having to reveal the size or price of the trade to a sell-side party or involve a sell-side party in the initial process of discovery of a counterparty.

For purpose of illustration, and not limitation, a series of exemplary screen shots depicting the discovery and negotiation phase of buy-side order matching in accordance with the disclosed subject matter are provided in FIGS. 5a-e . FIG. 5a depicts a screen shot of a user interface for use by a buy-side party to interact with central matching engine 100. The user interface of FIG. 5a can be adapted display a plurality of trade interests corresponding to the buy-side party in various stages of matching. For example, the user interface may include a section for the display matched interests 510 (i.e., trade interests for which the central matching engine has identified a match that has not yet been confirmed by the user), a section for the display of confirmed trade interests 520 (i.e., trade interests that have been confirmed by the user but not the counterparty), a section for the display of trade interests in negotiation 530, and a section for the display of negotiated and executed trades 540.

The screenshot of FIG. 5a depicts a matched trade interest 501 for the order of a financial instrument with the symbol FDSA and an order direction of “buy.” In this screen shot, for purpose of illustration, trade interest 501 appears in the “Matched Interests” section 510 because it has not yet been confirmed. The user interface can be adapted to display additional details of the trade interest, for example the name of the financial instrument, the exchange on which it is traded, or the like. The screen shot of FIG. 5a also displays an indication that the user must confirm the trade interest before proceeding. The user interface may be adapted to receive input from the user, such as in the form of a mouse click, to display another user interface for order confirmation.

FIG. 5b depicts a screen shot of an exemplary user interface for confirmation of trade interest of 501 for the purchase of FDSA. As described previously herein, the confirmation interface may include an interface element 555 for sell-side party ranking. The user may confirm the trade interest by clicking the “Go Ahead” button 556. Alternatively, the user may withdraw the trade interest by clicking the “Withdraw” button 557, and may provide a reason for withdrawal as described previously herein.

If the user confirms the trade interest by clicking the “Go Ahead” button 556, the user interface of FIG. 5a can be updated to display trade interest 501 under the “Awaiting Contra Confirmation” section 520 as illustrated by the exemplary screen shot of FIG. 5c . After the buy-side counterparty confirms their trade interest, the trade interest can be submitted to an appropriate sell-side party for negotiation as described herein. At this point, trade interest 501 can be displayed under the “Negotiating” section 530 as illustrated in FIG. 5 d.

After negotiation has terminated, either successfully or unsuccessfully, the user can enter details about the negotiation using an interface such as depicted in FIG. 5e . The interface of FIG. 5e allows the user to indicate whether the negotiation was successful (i.e., that the financial instrument was traded) or unsuccessful using interface element 565. If negotiation was unsuccessful, the user may instruct the central matching engine 101 to continue to search for further matches using interface element 566. Additionally, the user can set or modify the standard rules by which the central matching engine will use for subsequent matches. For example, the user may alter their counterparty and sell-side lists using the interface of FIG. 5e . The user may additionally rate the broker and counterparty used for negotiation of trade interest 501 using interface element 567. If the user indicates that negotiation was successful, the user interface of FIG. 5a may be adapted to display trade interest 501 under the “Traded” 540 section.

As described above in connection with certain embodiments, certain components, e.g., the centralized matching engine 100, can include a computer or computers, processor, network, mobile device, cluster, or other hardware to perform various functions. Moreover, certain elements of the disclosed subject matter can be embodied in computer readable code which can be stored on computer readable media and which when executed can cause a processor to perform certain functions described herein. In these embodiments, the computer and/or other hardware play a significant role in permitting the system and method for buy-side order matching. For example, the presence of the computers, processors, memory, storage, and networking hardware provides the ability to match buy-side orders in a more efficient manner. Moreover, the matching of electronic buy-side orders cannot be accomplished with pen or paper, as such information is received over a network in electronic form.

Additionally, as described above in connection with certain embodiments, certain components can communicate with certain other components, for example via a network, e.g., the Internet. To the extent not expressly stated above, the disclosed subject matter is intended to encompass both sides of each transaction, including transmitting and receiving. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that with regard to the features described above, if one component transmits, sends, or otherwise makes available to another component, the other component will receive or acquire, whether expressly stated or not.

The presently disclosed subject matter is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments herein. Indeed, various modifications of the disclosed subject matter in addition to those described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and the accompanying figures. Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for order matching in the trading of financial instruments, comprising: a centralized matching engine having one or more transmitters and receivers, wherein the centralized matching engine is communicatively coupled to a network, the network including one or more first computer systems and at least one second computer system, wherein the one or more first computer systems are configured to communicate between one or more first parties and the centralized matching engine, and wherein the at least one second computer system is configured to communicate between a second party and the centralized matching engine; the centralized matching engine further having one or more processors operatively coupled to one or more storage devices and the one or more transmitters and receivers, the one or more processors configured to: receive at least one message sent over the network from any of the one or more first party computer systems, wherein the at least one message is stored in one or more of the storage devices and sets one or more rules and one or more order parameters, and wherein the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters include a trade interest, wherein the one or more order parameters include one or more of an instrument symbol, an order size, and an order direction for each trade interest placed by the one or more first parties; analyze the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters to determine eligibility for at least one of the one or more first parties; determine a first subset of the one or more first parties based on the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters, wherein the first sub-set of the one or more first parties each conform to at least one of the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters; match at least one trade interest of a first first party with at least one trade interest of a second first party based on the identification of the first subset of the one or more first parties and the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters; generate and transmit a match message to each first party computer system, the match message indicating that a match has been found; display information based on the match message on at least one first display, wherein the at least one first display is operatively connected to the one or more first computer systems, wherein the information displayed on the one or more first display comprises a first window approximately adjacent a second window, and wherein the first window includes the trade interest and a first button; receive a reply message input from the one or more first computer systems, wherein the reply message input indicates whether at least one first party confirms the trade interest or whether at least one first party withdraws the trade interest; transmit a negotiation message to the second party computer system upon receiving at least two reply message inputs from at least two first parties confirming the respective trade interests, wherein the transmission of the negotiation message to the second party computer system indicates that trade negotiation can commence; and match the orders of at least two of the one or more first parties when the one or more order parameters for a first party and the one or more order parameters for a second party include the same instrument symbol and the opposite order direction, when the one or more rules for the first party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the second party, when the one or more rules for the second party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the first party, or when the one or more rules for the first and second party include a mutual second party.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second window includes a second button.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computer system is a buy-side computer system and the second computer system is a sell-side computer system.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules includes, for the one or more first parties, an indication of which other first parties, if any, to avoid matching with, and an indication of at least one second party that each first party is willing to engage with for subsequent trade negotiation.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to communicate via the network with each first party to withdraw, modify, or cancel pending trade interests.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the message to the second party includes instrument details and names or identities of the at least two first parties.
 7. A method for order matching in the trading of financial instruments using a centralized matching engine having one or more transmitters and receivers, wherein the centralized matching engine is communicatively coupled to a network, the network including one or more first computer systems and at least one second computer system, wherein the one or more first computer systems are configured to communicate between a one or more first parties and the centralized matching engine, wherein the at least one second computer system is configured to communicate between a second party and the centralized matching engine, wherein the centralized matching engine further includes one or more processors operatively coupled to one or more storage devices and the one or more transmitters and receivers, the method comprising: receiving at least one message sent over the network from any of the one or more first party computer systems, wherein the at least one message is stored in one or more of the storage devices and sets one or more rules and the one or more order parameters, and wherein the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters include a trade interest, wherein the one or more order parameters include one or more of an instrument symbol, an order size, and an order direction for each trade interest placed by the one or more first parties; analyzing the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters to determine eligibility for at least one of the one or more first parties; determining a first subset of the one or more first parties based on the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters, wherein the first sub-set of the one or more first parties each conform to at least one of the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters; matching at least one trade interest of a first first party with at least one trade interest of a second first party based on the identification of the first subset of the one or more first parties and the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters; generating and transmitting a match message to each first party computer system, the match message indicating that a match has been found; displaying information based on the match message on at least one first display, wherein the at least one first display is operatively connected to the one or more first computer systems, wherein the information displayed on the one or more first display comprises a first window approximately adjacent a second window, and wherein the first window includes the trade interest and a first button; receiving a reply message input from the one or more first computer systems, wherein the reply message input indicates whether at least one first party confirms the trade interest or whether at least one first party withdraws the trade interest; transmitting a negotiation message to the second party computer system upon receiving at least two reply message inputs from at least two first parties confirming the respective trade interests, wherein the transmission of the negotiation message to the second party computer system indicates that trade negotiation can commence; and matching the orders of at least two of the one or more first parties when the one or more order parameters for a first party and the one or more order parameters for a second party include the same instrument symbol and the opposite order direction, when the one or more rules for the first party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the second party, when the one or more rules for the second party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the first party, and when the one or more rules for the first and second party include a mutual second party.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second window includes a second button.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the first computer system is a buy-side computer system and the second computer system is a sell-side computer system.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more rules includes, for the one or more first parties, an indication of which other first parties, if any, to avoid matching with, and an indication of at least one second party that each first party is willing to engage with for subsequent trade negotiation.
 11. The method of claim 7, further comprising communicating via the network with each first party to withdraw, modify, or cancel pending trade interests.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the message to the second party includes instrument details and names or identities of the at least two first parties.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computer system to match orders in the trading of financial instruments, by performing the steps of: receiving at least one message sent over a network from any of one or more first party computer systems, wherein the network includes the one or more first computer systems and at least one second computer system, wherein the one or more first computer systems are configured to communicate between one or more first parties and a centralized computer matching engine, wherein the at least one second computer system is configured to communicate between a second party and the centralized computer matching engine, wherein the at least one message is stored in one or more storage devices coupled to the centralized matching engine and sets one or more rules and one or more order parameters, and wherein the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters include a trade interest, wherein the one or more order parameters include one or more of an instrument symbol, an order size, and an order direction for each trade interest placed by the one or more first parties; analyzing the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters to determine eligibility for at least of the one or more first parties; determining a first subset of the one or more first parties based on the one or more rules and the one or more order parameters, wherein the first sub-set of the one or more first parties each conform to at least one of the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters; matching at least one trade interest of a first party with at least one trade interest of a second first party based on the identification of the first subset of the one or more first parties and the one or more rules or the one or more order parameters; generating and transmitting a match message to each first party computer system, the match message indicating that a match has been found; displaying information based on the match message on at least one first display, wherein the at least one first display is operatively connected to the one or more first computer systems, wherein the information displayed on the one or more first displays comprises a first window approximately adjacent a second window, and wherein the first window includes the trade interest and a first button; receiving a reply message input from the one or more first computer systems, wherein the reply message input indicates whether at least one first party confirms the trade interest or whether at least one first party withdraws the trade interest; transmitting a negotiation message to the second party computer system upon receiving at least two reply message inputs from at least two first parties confirming the respective trade interests, wherein the transmission of the negotiation message to the second party computer system indicates that trade negotiation can commence; and matching the orders of at least two of the one or more first parties when the one or more order parameters for a first party and the one or more order parameters for a second party include the same instrument symbol and the opposite order direction, when the one or more rules for the first party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the second party, when the one or more rules for the second party does not include an indication to avoid matching with the first party, and when the one or more rules for the first and second party include a mutual second party.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the second window includes a second button.
 15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more rules includes, for the one or more first parties, an indication of which other first parties, if any, to avoid matching with, and an indication of at least one second party that each first party is willing to engage with for subsequent trade negotiation, and wherein the message to the second party includes instrument details and names or identities of the at least two first parties. 